


The Storybrook forum

by Louhime



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Character Death, Chat room sections, F/F, F/M, Gen, Long, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Past Character Death, Past Relationship(s)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-02
Updated: 2017-02-02
Packaged: 2018-09-21 15:44:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9555737
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Louhime/pseuds/Louhime
Summary: Each username hides a story. Each story is lived by a woman desperately wanting help but who can't find their voice in the real world. Maybe somehow they can help each other.





	1. Snow

**Author's Note:**

> Hello my lovlies! 
> 
> Now this is a little different than my previous attempts for this fandom and I have little expectation other than it was a different way to write! I hope that you'll forgive me the awful summary, I will get back to it but I am ill and tired and blah...many more excuses but they are my main ones. 
> 
> I will as always put the warnings at the bottom but there aren't many to speak of at the moment. 
> 
> Read on and do tell me what you think! 
> 
> Much love Lou

**_Snow has signed in_ **

**2.38 AM SNOW- Hey guys, anyone there?**

**2.38 AM RED – Here. What’s up sweetie?**

**2.39 AM SNOW – The witch has been awful today. And he wants to go out. Out, out.**

**2.39 AM RED – Ah. Lovely.**

**2.40 AM RED – Shit Snow, why don’t you just chuck him? You don’t love him and it’s not fair on you!**

**2.40 AM SNOW – Oh like it’s easy? Just like you could walk out the front door without the wolf biting at your heels?!**

**_Red has signed off_ **

**2.40 SNOW – Red I’m sorry. Please forgive me, I know it’s not that easy.**

**2.45 SNOW – Red? Please! I’m sorry!**

**2.55 SNOW – Red? Please I need to talk to you, you’re the only one who I can talk to!**

 

Mary Margaret pushed herself back from her desk and swallowed down a sob. Why did she always put her foot into her great big mouth? Red was possibly the only person in the world who she trusted out of the handful she even talked to anymore and even she didn’t want to talk to her with her shitty attitude. It had been hours and Red had not once come back online.

She glanced at the covered mirror, felt the now instinctive disgust and looked away. Not that anyone would want to talk to her if they knew what kind of person they were talking to. She floated to her chest of drawers, picked up the most worn frame and collapsed into her arm chair. Tears stung her eyes as they always did looking at the only photographs she had left.

Frozen within a tarnished silver frame were two pictures. On the right stood a happy couple in bright sunshine. A strapping dark haired man nuzzling his face into a petite raven haired beauty’s shoulder their joined hands displaying shiny, new wedding rings. Her parents the day they had eloped and the only wedding photo they had taken. Her mother didn’t want her family involved and his family didn’t approve of her being a ‘commoner’. She stroked down each of their faces desperately wanting the people she loved most in the world to come back to her. A well-worn and still painful hollow in her chest ached.

On the left was another couple, another raven haired beauty and a handsome blonde man both still a little chubby cheeked in early adolescence. They stood with their arms around each other; a little bashful and awkward but eyes locked on each other. A tear plopped onto the glass over his face. She swiped it away with her thumb, wishing he could be there beside her. She remembered the day the photo was taken; it had been in the same park that her parent’s had taken their wedding photo in.

She remembered being fifteen and awkward, desperately wanting to be noticed and terrified that she would be. A school trip that had ended too soon had left their entire class with nothing to do until pick up so on mass had descended on the local park to bask in the late summer sun. Feelings had begun to bubble and blossom inside her but had shied away from them, with the typical teenaged method of ignore and hope it gets solved on its own, and David had been just as hesitant. It had been his brother that forced them to talk, a few hours had passed and they had covered everything and were still talking.

She’d been the happiest she’d ever been that day. Somehow she’d been able to forget that her mother was dead and her father was marrying another woman. At just fifteen years old she knew that the boy in front of her was the one she wanted to grow old with, have babies with and a mortgage and even a dog or two. They’d been inseparable after that first day until his accident. Two years of being young and in love, family holidays with him and his mother and brother, valentines as romantic as two teenagers could make it and almost magical Christmases. They’d even begun talking about living together after university and settling down properly.

It was the night he left and never came back that they’d had their first and last fight. She’d been staying with him and his family over Christmas trying to avoid ever going back to her family home. Her step-mother had been redecorating and her father had been letting her remove anything she found to be lacking. Almost all of which was picked by her mother; furniture, curtains all the trinkets which made their house a home systematically removed. Regina had begun gutting their cottage and turned it into a sterile guesthouse. Soon after they’d moved somewhere more ‘suitable’ meaning a three story building located in the centre of London.

She believed that they’d never argue but that Christmas he had been secretive and left often for hours without telling her anything. It had driven their teenage emotions to breaking point and Christmas eve they’d argued fit to bring the house down. He had yelled at her that if they weren’t going to be civil then he’d drive her home. She had yelled back that she’d rather be home than there. So still fuming with each other he’d driven her home; a mile away from her house they were blindsided by a drunk driver and he had died on impact. She’d later found out through her step-mother that his family wanted nothing to do with her believing her to be the reason he had been killed. She hadn’t been allowed to go to the funeral.

More and more tears followed the first landing squarely on the teenaged faces looking up at her. A loud sob escaped from her mouth and it was the beginning of the end, great hiccupping sobs broke out of her and she couldn’t stem the tide. She let herself be dragged under their great dark weight.

Sometime later after the tears had stopped flowing and she felt ready to wipe their remains from her cheeks a rapid knock on her bedroom door startled her.

“Yes?” She whispered

“Darlin’ are you ready for our date? I know I’ve been busy but I wanna spend time with you before your mother drags me off for another business trip.” Came the confident drawl of her husband.

The door opened and she saw his face peer round the edge, his smile dimming after he caught sight of her.

“Oh, so it’s one of those days then, love. Why do you keep those blasted photos if they make you cry so?” Killian sighed as he sat beside her, plucking the frame from her lap.

Mary Margaret couldn’t summon the words to answer that question. She never could. All she wanted in that moment was to curl up in bed with the curtains closed and not move for a week. It was all she ever wanted to do. Killian tapped carelessly on the glass, sparking fear in her chest that he’d break it. It wouldn’t be the first time he’d been careless with her things.

“Please, Killian, just put it back?” She forced out, the words feeling like lead on her tongue.

She was so grateful that he wanted to be with her, despite the fact that she was an awful human being. He was a little rough around the edges but he loved her. She couldn’t figure out why.

“Oh shush darlin’, you worry too much about things that are in the past. Why? It’s the past, can’t change it so you might as well live for the now.” He drawled. With the last word he ambled to his feet and dropped the frame onto the chest of drawers, spun back and hauled her up from her seat.

She moved automatically, used to his very physical method of getting his way. She knew he just wanted the best for her and needed to pull her in the right direction. He led her by the hand to her wardrobe; flung open the antique doors and pulled out a dress. It was summarily draped over her free arm and then a pair of shoes were balanced on top. He hummed pleased and then faced her square on; folding his arms tightly over his chest.

“Get dressed love, I didn’t come home just to you to find a face like a wet sponge okay? Get dressed and I’ll be seeing you downstairs in ten so we can actually leave the house today yeah?” As he spoke he looked over her shoulder almost thoughtlessly and left the door open wide behind him; bathing her in the afternoon light. The warmth on her face reminded her that she was supposed to be his wife. She was the one who should be out in arranging little days for just the two of them. She knew that he was being too good to her; most men wouldn’t put up with such a demanding, awful wife. But he did and she loved him for it, promised herself that she did.

Clouds covered the hallway window blotting out the sun and she hugged her arms a little closer. One of the shoes tumbled to the ground with a startling clatter; she pulled her arms closer simply wanting to go back to bed. Her eyes felt heavy already and she looked longingly over her shoulder to the expansive four poster nest she’d made for herself. She was going to have to disappoint him again, she couldn’t do it. She couldn’t face it. The other shoe hit the ground and both were covered by the slip of a dress. And once more her room was shrouded in darkness as she inched the door closed.


	2. Ruby

**10.15 PM RED – Good day?**

**10.15 PM SNOW – No.**

**10.15 PM RED – What happened? Did that bastard hurt you? Snow?**

**10.20 PM SNOW – No. It’s just not a good day.**

**10.21 PM RED - Oh, a blue day then?**

**10.21 PM SNOW – Yeah.**

**10.22 PM RED – I get it; we don’t have to talk much if you don’t feel like it. I just wanted to tell you that it was a good day at work and the bruises from last time have almost vanished. Even he’s in a good mood as his boss has given him some more hours. He’s said that if there’s enough at the end of the month we’ll go out and visit my gran. How lovely will that be? He’s so good to me, a little gift like that, don’t you think?**

**10.25 PM SNOW – It would be lovely to be able to see your grandmother again so soon, I’m sure she’s missed you terribly.**

**10.25 PM SNOW – I have to go, my step mother has arrived home and wants to have a chat with me about my behaviour.**

**10.25 PM RED – What?**

**10.25 PM SNOW – Last week I didn’t go out when it was all arranged and she’s embarrassed on his behalf as he would never tell me so.**

**_Snow has signed off._ **

Ruby stood up from her desk, relishing the ability to stand upright in one swift move without any lingering pain. She and Peter had come out of their rough patch even closer. She caught a glance of her boyfriend’s headlights pulling into the drive and a little stab of panic rushed through her before she remembered that all the cleaning had been done and she’d managed to cook his favourite dinner without having to go shopping. He never liked it when she had to go shopping more than once in a week.

She heard the front door open and his customary routine of hanging up his bag and coat, shuffling his boots off at the same time. Ruby smiled, he always did like his routines. She trod lightly down the stairs and peered at him over the bannister on the half landing. He was relaxed and there were no tight lines on his face. She met him at the bottom of the stairs where he plucked her up as if she weighed nothing at all.

“My love, how’d you get so beautiful?” he whispered to her.

She smiled at the rare compliment. He guarded his reserve fiercely, not wanting her to get immune to them.

“I guess it’s because I love you that’s why.” She whispered in reply, smiling even wider when he smiled too. She’d spoken correctly.

“What’s for dinner my love?” He said as he let her slowly touch the ground again.

“Shepherd’s pie. Family recipe.” She replied, moving past him to get the food plated up.

“My favourite. Thank you.”

He rattled around in the cutlery drawer as she dished up the portions, mindlessly adding double to his plate. They ate in companionable silence, both enjoying the good food. Even though he’d had a larger portion he finished before she did and pushed his plate away, rising to go to the lounge without a word.

She hummed tunelessly as she gathered the plates and pans for washing up. It had been a success, no cross words over dinner. She ran the hot tap and as the water began the long process of heating; their old boiler gurgling into life, she scraped almost all her portion from her plate into the food waste bin. It had been a wasteful error on her part to put so much on her plate, she knew that she didn’t eat that much. Hadn’t eaten that much in a long while as she needed to keep her figure. Peter loved her figure. She’d have to be careful that he hadn’t noticed how much she’d wasted as he would have to remind her of the money she’d scraped into the bin.

The phone chirping interrupted her humming and she reflexively reached for the handset in the kitchen before she remembered herself. Peter would answer it in the lounge, he’d call her if it was meant for her. She heard his voice through the doorway, at first pleasant and calm. It took a quick turn into tense and clipped. Her body jumped into high alert, even though it wasn’t aimed at her. She laughed to herself at how silly she was being; Peter was having a good day. He’d even allowed her to contact Belle and arrange a shift for tomorrow.

He came through to the kitchen with a face like thunder. She swallowed hard, he must have noticed the food. That must have been why, the phone call had slipped from her mind.

“It’s your grandmother. She wants you.” His tone carried more than he was saying.

She took the phone and he spun on his heel, as soon as he’d left the room seemed to lighten. The tinny voice from the speaker reminded her of her call.

“Granny?”

“Oh my darling girl! I’ve not heard your voice in too long! How are you sweetheart? Are you happy?” Her grandmother’s voice raced through the questions as though she only had minutes to speak.

“Hey Granny, I’m fine. Never better. What has you calling so late? You know Peter doesn’t like it when you call so late.”

“Stuff Peter if I want to talk to my only granddaughter I damn well will. Why don’t you ever pick up the phone dear-heart?” Her grandmother queried. Ruby had missed her directness. 

Her grandmother loved her fiercely; the same couldn’t be said of Peter. Ruby never understood why her only family and the love of her life couldn’t get along. She knew that Peter was particular but it was part of the reason they were so good together. He kept her on the straight and narrow, she huffed out a breath when she thought of who she used to be before she met Peter.

She caught a glimpse of herself in the washed saucepan on the drainer. Her normally pale face was perhaps a touch too pale, she reasoned that it was late autumn and there wasn’t much sun. No one wanted to go out and about when it was wet or snowing and Peter didn’t like it when she went out on her own. Her eyes, a dull hazel, were ringed with deep purple. She traced a finger round the almost bruise coloured skin watching the path of her reflected hand. She could see the movement of both tendon and bone.

“Ruby, honey? You still there?” Her grandmother spoke uncharacteristically softly.

Ruby looked away from the reflection and tucked a few stray strands behind her ear.

“Yeah, I’m still here. Granny, why are you calling? I’m fine, so is Peter.”

As if he had been waiting for his cue, Peter appeared in the kitchen doorway. She dared a look at him and could see the growing impatience clouding his features.

“I wanted to tell you that I have some holiday coming up and wondered if you wanted to see me? We could go out and about for a couple of days, see some sights? You know that I don’t really care for tourist traps but it would be fun to do them with you. What do you think?” She finished brightly.

Ruby bit her lip, it sounded wonderful. Getting back into the world and seeing her grandmother at the same time. Peter shifted in the doorway and cleared his throat.

“I’m really sorry Granny I’m, I’m swamped with shifts at the moment and I can’t give up the money. You know how it is?” She desperately hoped that the other woman would let her have her story and not probe it further. A few heart pounding moments passed and her grandmother spoke.

“Okay sweetheart if you’re sure? I just thought it would be lovely. Next time yeah?” She asked.

“Yeah, next time.”

They said their goodbyes and with a final click the connection vanished. Peter growled low in his throat and Ruby closed her eyes. She wasn’t going to be able to turn up for her shift tomorrow.


	3. Astrid

**6.10 AM BADHABIT – You’ve been on here a long time Snow, what’s wrong?**

**6.10 AM SNOW – I couldn’t sleep last night. I’ve been trying to psych myself into getting out of the house today, I can’t keep letting him down.**

**6.11 AM BADHABIT – Snow you aren’t letting anyone down, let alone your husband. He has to understand that you just have certain things you can’t do. Like everyone. Everyone has limitations.**

**6.11 AM SNOW – You say that but I can’t show you how disappointed he looks when I can’t do it. When leaving this house is too hard for me. But enough about me, how come you’re online? I thought nuns weren’t allowed to?**

**6.11 AM BADHABIT – I am only an initiate; I haven’t taken orders yet so the rules are more relaxed for me. I’m being cheeky by using the computer without the Mother Superior’s permission and to go on sites that aren’t for bringing shopping into the nunnery. But I figure I’m allowed a little leeway by her upstairs, being young and uninitiated.**

**6.12 SNOW – Why how naughty?! I thought you lot were virtuous! I promise I won’t tell.**

**6.13 BADHABIT – I’m sure she already knows about it so I’d better get off this contraption and head to Matins. Good morning Snow, I hope you have a lovely day.**

**_BadHabit has signed off._ **

****

Astrid, keeping one eye on the clock, quickly shut down the computer and settled the room back to how it had been before she had entered it. Mother Superior Evangeline had a shrewd eye for detail and could almost always tell when someone under her command had disobeyed the rules. She was quick to judge and even quicker with the punishments. Astrid smoothed out her pinafore and hurried on soft soles to the door; taking care to close it silently as old oak could be shut.

She could see across the courtyard the dormitory doors opening in sync, each woman ready for the next worship of the day and content with their place. She stooped to slip her plimsolls on, checking no one was coming up behind her. As the first toll of the bells rang out she slipped into the lines of habited women flowing into the chapel.

She took her usual place, sitting in her rickety chair with the glow of the dawn barely making itself known though the window opposite. She loved to see the sun rise every morning during their prayers, the golden glow reminded her that under the vaulted ceiling standing amongst devotees of God that she had been blessed. That there were worse places she could have ended up.

The last note faded away and everyone’s attention shifted from their hymn books to the Mother Superior as she rose to give the final prayer. Astrid kept her eyes lowered to the pages of her book, hoping that the other woman wouldn’t be able to tell her secret from a distance. She scolded herself for thinking about her indiscretion with her overly revealing face. She’d never been able to lie convincingly, not even as a child. Luck was on her side as Evangeline had her eyes firmly glued to her book. The lyrical prose faded as the hymns before it, seeming to soak into the ancient stone.

“Now, I want to inform you before the fact that we will be having a team of construction workers here on site to perform the reconstruction in the west wing.” Evangeline paused, looking over the collected nuns. “They will not be allowed into the chapel or the dormitories and have strict instructions to perform their work as quietly as possible to avoid interrupting our prayers. I want you all to work as if they are not here and please redirect them to myself or to Novice Astrid if they require any additional assistance.”

Astrid perked up at the mention of her name. She had been admiring the way the sunlight had thrown the stained glass on the floor; the image of the feeding of the five thousand stretching as time passed.  The renovations had been planned for years; their chapel only recently having made it to the top of the list. She’d figured that the renovations would never happen as their chapel was in the middle of nowhere and had very few occupants. Now that she had been named by their Mother Superior in front of the others she figured she better pay attention.

“You are all dismissed, Novice Astrid please come to me.” The Mother Superior beckoned her forwards with a gentle twitch of her prayer book, smiling at the passing nuns. As the chapel emptied she turned stone-faced.

“I have chosen you for this task in an effort to remind you of your duty of obedience. You have been spending far too much time day dreaming and not focussing on your chores. This will stop. You will report to my office after your work this morning where you will meet the foreman. He will be your contact with the builders and you are to work obediently under their orders. I would place a senior nun as their liaison however their time would be wasted, yours will not. I trust that this will not be a task to great for you?” She finished coldly. 

Astrid nodded her head, shame pooling low in her gut. She was a disappointment to her convent. She had never been one to sit in contemplative silence for hours, she got bored. Her most recent task had been to sit in the chapel, on her bare knees and pray for guidance. She had followed the orders even though the rough stone had bruised her already sore knees. She had knelt and prayed and prayed. It had felt like hours. Until she heard Sister Martine gasping in the hallway, she had gone to investigate and had helped her with her inhaler. When she’d sufficiently calmed enough to breath properly, she’d caught sight of the tap in the garden dripping onto the budding shoots. Astrid had seen to the plants and wandered over the entire convent helping in her small way when Mother Evangeline had found her and fury had been too calm a word to describe the emotions flitting over her face. She figured that the mud trailing off her pinafore and her presence in the library hadn’t helped her case.

“I expect you to do your duty with due care and attention but do not let if detract from your personal duties. Understand?” She asked.

Astrid nodded. She didn’t want to incur the wrath of her Mother Superior as long as she could help it.

“Words.” She bit out.

“Yes I understand Mother Superior.” She replied respectfully.

**Author's Note:**

> Right for the characters that I have written so far there are:  
> Themes of abuse, different stories and different kinds.  
> Themes of mental illness  
> Themes of physical illness  
> Themes of general shitty behaviours
> 
> That's all for the moment but I will be adding more later. 
> 
> Love!


End file.
